How To Create a Vector Linework Ray Gun Illustration

Recently I’ve been admiring the artwork over at RayGun52.com, which hosts 52 cool ray gun concepts from various designers. This gave me the inspiration to create a ray gun design of my own, so follow this step by step Illustrator to see the design process of my vector linework ray gun illustration, and learn how I use varied line weights to define the various elements.

The ray gun illustration we’ll be creating uses varied line weights in place of colour to achieve that technical drawing appearance. The whole design is built using fairly simple shapes, with layering of elements helping add to the overall detail.

Open up Illustrator and draw a large ellipse on the artboard, followed by a rounded rectangle with the maximum corner radius. With the rectangle selected go to Object > Path > Offset Path and give it a 3mm offset.

Delete away the points on the right edge of the outer rectanlge, then use the Pen tool to continue its path and create a new shape outlining the pistol grip of the ray gun. Return the path back to the open end of the rectangle and join the ends together.

Draw a circle in the upper portion of the grip area, then add a vertical line running from the centre to the edge. Grab the Rotate tool, select the line then ALT-click the centre of the circle to add a pivot point. In the options, enter 120 degrees and hit copy. Press CMD+D to repeat the transformation to create three evenly spaced lines.

Draw a long thin rounded rectangle elsewhere on the artboard, then click and drag while holding ALT and Shift to create a duplicate. Release the mouse when the duplicate is aligned exactly with the original, then repeatedly press CMD+D to form a series of perfectly aligned shapes.

Add another rounded rectangle to the trigger area, this time with a small corner radius. Use the Pen tool to add a point halfway down the left edge, then move this point inwards and add bezier handles to produce a curved edge. Press CMD+Shift+[ to send this object to the bottom of the stack.

Draw a small vertical line inside the barrel rectangle, then make a duplicate by clicking and dragging while holding Alt and Shift. Repeatedly press CMD+D to repeat the transformation until the whole barrel is filled with this line pattern.